• J Lorvick, S Thompson, B R Edlin, A H Kral, A R Lifson, and J K Watters.
• Urban Health Study, University of California, San Francisco 94143-1304, USA. jbo@itsa.ucsf.edu
• J Urban Health. 1999 Dec 1; 76 (4): 461467461-7.

SettingA community-based directly observed preventive therapy (DOPT) program for treatment of latent tuberculosis infection among injection drug users (IDUs) in an inner-city neighborhood.ObjectiveTo test adherence to a 6-month course of DOPT using cash incentives and an easily accessible neighborhood location.DesignStreet-recruited IDUs (N = 205) were screened for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) infection using the Mantoux test and two controls. Subjects who had a purified protein derivative (PPD) reaction of > or =5 mm, were anergic, or had a history of a positive PPD received clinical evaluation at a community field site, provided in collaboration with the San Francisco Department of Public Health Tuberculosis Clinic. Twenty-eight subjects were considered appropriate candidates for prophylaxis with isoniazid, and 27 enrolled in the pilot study. Participants received twice-weekly DOPT at a community satellite office, with a $10 cash incentive at each visit.ResultsThe 6-month (26-week) regimen was completed by 24/27 (89%) participants. The median time to treatment completion was 27 weeks (range 26 to 34 weeks). The median proportion of dosing days attended in 6 months was 96%.ConclusionCommunity-based DOPT using cash incentives resulted in high levels of adherence and treatment completion among drug users.

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